VinFast’s VF8 model sedan is among the models being offered at the new VinFast of Bowling Green dealership at 2201 Scottsville Road.

Quietly, a first-in-Kentucky automobile dealership has set up shop on Scottsville Road, aiming to put a charge into the Bowling Green car market.

VinFast of Bowling Green, operating in the former Mitsubishi dealership building at 2201 Scottsville Road, began last month selling the electric vehicles manufactured by Vietnamese automaker VinFast Auto Ltd.

The dealership, the latest offering under the umbrella of the Gary Force Honda business, is one of only 18 VinFast retailers nationwide.

“We’re just trying to add another product,” said Tim Faulkner, Gary Force Honda’s general sales manager. “It’s definitely a risk, but I feel like if we get into it early, it will pay off.”

The Bowling Green VinFast store is part of the Vietnamese company’s slow entry into the U.S. market.

Founded in 2017, VinFast has grown steadily and is now building a manufacturing plant in North Carolina as it tries to compete with Tesla and other U.S. EV companies.

VinFast reported delivery of 12,058 vehicles in the second quarter of this year, a 26% increase from the same period last year. The company is aiming to deliver approximately 80,000 EVs in 2024, a big increase from the 34,855 delivered in 2023.

That rapid growth and the quality of the product convinced Gary Force Honda President Tim Kanaly to add VinFast to the company’s vehicle offerings.

“Nobody knows how fast we’re going to make the transition to EVs,” Kanaly said. “Technology is moving so much faster now in this business.”

While acknowledging that “every manufacturer is going to make an EV,” Kanaly said he believes VinFast is a good choice for this market.

“What’s novel about VinFast is that they make a variety of products, from e-bikes and cars to buses,” he said. “The commuter cars they make really excite me.

“You can have one (gasoline-powered) car for traveling out of town and a VinFast car for driving in town that you never put gas in.”

Kanaly said he was able to land a VinFast dealership faster than other automobile retailers because the former Mitsubishi building was empty. It’s now equipped with four EV charging stations and a smattering of vehicles.

VinFast of Bowling Green has fewer than a dozen cars on its lot now, but Kanaly and Faulkner expect that to change soon.

Most of the cars on the lot now are the VF8 model that has a full-charge range of about 265 miles and sells for around $50,000. Like many other EVs, the VF8 qualifies for the $7,500 federal tax credit.

Faulkner said VinFast of Bowling Green will be getting other models, most of which will sell for less than the VF8. A smallish VF3 model, for example, is projected to carry a price tag of around $20,000 when it is introduced next year.

“So far we’ve seen a lot of interest in the cars,” Faulkner said. “It’s nice to have one car you never have to put gas in.”